Newcastle United have fiveyear plan to emulate Aston Villa

10 February 2009 14:43
The St James' Park hierarchy have publicly declared that they will try to emulate high-flying Aston Villa as they seek to map out a route from the lower reaches of the Premier League back into the upper echelons of English football. [LNB]Their lofty ambitions have been outlined at a club that owner Mike Ashley put up for sale last September when Newcastle was brought to its knees by the resignation of manager Kevin Keegan. [LNB]"In five years' time I would hope we would be challenging for everything," Newcastle managing director Derek Llambias said. [LNB]"We hope to be like an Aston Villa. But you need to have solid grounding under your feet. [LNB]"You need that, it should have been built years ago. We inherited so much. We're knocking down walls and rebuilding." [LNB]Ashley, of course, failed to sell the club when the fans turned on him and the rest of the so-called Cockney Mafia following Keegan's departure and he ended up taking Newcastle off the market six weeks ago. [LNB]"Now we're in a position where Mike is back on board and we're not selling the club," Llambias added. [LNB]"Our intention is to go back on the track we were on before with our business plan. [LNB]"We think that is the only way forward for this particular club and I think it will be a model going forward for a lot of Premier League clubs. [LNB]"So we're now trying to put the stability back into the club as far as that is concerned. We're realistic about where we need to be in the next year or so." [LNB]"As far as we're concerned we see Newcastle United as having an exciting future. It's not a question of anything else. Why would you buy a business and then just run it into the ground? [LNB]Llambias has also had a dig at the previous Newcastle regime by insisting The "business was being run on a credit" before Ashley's £134.4-million takeover 18 months ago. [LNB]"Last year we lost £34 million, this year we'll lose £20 million, and next year it will be around £7 million. [LNB]"But it still doesn't mean that Mike won't invest when he has to invest. We aren't a selling club, we're a buying club. We are out there in the market." [LNB]It has also been confirmed that Dennis Wise remains an integral part of the club's strategy. [LNB]Llambias said: "Dennis is our director of football. He is out there looking for players. He will remain part of our management structure. [LNB]"It works quite well with Joe and Dennis and ourselves. Dennis is travelling most of the time but he'll be here twice a week. I am here five days a week. [LNB]"Mike is in the Midlands and running Sports Direct. He comes down once a week, and he's going to spend most of that time at the training ground. Being run from London is nonsense and it's never been the case. It's just that we're Londoners." [LNB]Newcastle manager Joe Kinnear has spent the last three nights in hospital in Sutton Coldfield following a health scare ahead of last Saturday's 3-2 victory over West Bromwich Albion. [LNB]

Source: Telegraph